How Tommy Tuberville built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Tommy Tuberville is an American politician and former college football coach currently serving as the senior United States Senator from Alabama since 2021. Prior to his political career, he held head coaching positions at four universities: the University of Mississippi (1995-1998), Auburn University (1999-2008), Texas Tech University (2010-2012), and the University of Cincinnati (2013-2016). His career spans both the realms of collegiate athletics and national politics.
In 1951, DeWitt Weaver first season, he was the first to accomplish the feat, before Tuberville in 2011.
In 1982, Auburn broke Alabama's nine-year winning streak, a feat Auburn would later surpass during Tuberville's tenure.
In 1986, Tuberville began working as an assistant coach at the University of Miami.
In 1993, Tuberville was the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami.
In 1994, Tuberville became the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M University.
In 1994, Tuberville got his first collegiate head coaching job at the University of Mississippi.
In 1995, Tuberville became the head football coach at the University of Mississippi, starting his head coaching career.
In 1998, Tuberville concluded his time as head football coach at Ole Miss.
Tuberville left Ole Miss after the 1998 season to take the head coaching job at Auburn University.
In 1999, Tuberville became the head football coach at Auburn University, a position he held until 2008.
Auburn lost their entire starting backfield to the NFL draft in 2004.
In 2004, Tuberville coached 19 players who were selected in the NFL draft, including four first-round picks.
In 2004, Tuberville guided Auburn to the top of the SEC standings, leading them to an SEC championship and the Western Division title.
In 2007, Tuberville achieved his 100th career win as a coach.
On October 8, 2008, Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.
In December 2008, Tuberville formed a 50-50 partnership with John David Stroud, creating TS Capital Management and TS Capital Partners.
In 2008, Tuberville concluded his tenure as head football coach at Auburn University, marking the end of a significant chapter in his coaching career.
During the 2009 football season, Tuberville worked as an analyst for Buster Sports and ESPN and made a cameo appearance in the film "The Blind Side".
On December 31, 2009, Tuberville expressed his interest in becoming head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
On January 9, 2010, Tuberville was named the head coach at Texas Tech.
In 2010, Tuberville became the head football coach at Texas Tech University.
On January 1, 2011, Tuberville became the second head coach in Texas Tech history to win a bowl game in his first season.
On January 18, 2011, Tuberville received a one-year contract extension and a $500,000 per year raise at Texas Tech.
On December 8, 2012, Tuberville resigned as head coach at Texas Tech to become the head coach at the University of Cincinnati.
In 2012, Tuberville ended his time as head football coach at Texas Tech University.
In 2013, Tuberville became the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati.
In 2013, Tuberville's first season with Cincinnati, he led the Bearcats to a 9-4 record.
In 2014, Tuberville founded the Tommy Tuberville Foundation to support military and veterans, health initiatives, and education/community programs.
In 2014, Tuberville's team was 9–4 and earned an American Athletic Conference co-championship.
In 2015, Tuberville served as the president of the American Football Coaches Association.
January 18, 2011, Tuberville's salary was $2 million through the 2015 season.
On December 4, 2016, Tuberville resigned as head coach of Cincinnati after a 4–8 season.
In 2016, Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the United States elections.
In 2016, Tuberville's tenure as head football coach at the University of Cincinnati came to an end.
In 2017, Tuberville worked as a color analyst for ESPN's college football coverage.
In April 2019, Tommy Tuberville announced his candidacy for the 2020 Republican primary for the Senate seat held by Democrat Doug Jones.
On March 3, 2020, Tuberville received 33.4% of the vote in the Republican primary, leading Jeff Sessions (31.6%) and advancing to a runoff election due to no candidate reaching over 50% of the vote.
In May 2020, Donald Trump called Jeff Sessions "slime" for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
On November 26, 2020, Tuberville announced Stephen Boyd as his chief of staff, who was previously the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2020, Tommy Tuberville's Senate campaign was described as "low-profile," with few pre-scheduled campaign appearances or press conferences. He closely allied himself with President Donald Trump.
In 2020, Tuberville won the Republican nomination for the Senate election in Alabama and defeated incumbent Doug Jones.
On May 28, 2021, Tuberville voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
In 2021, Tuberville became the senior United States senator from Alabama, marking his entry into national politics.
In May 2022, Tuberville introduced the Financial Freedom Act of 2022, which would allow for the inclusion of cryptocurrency in individual retirement accounts.
In June 2022, after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Tuberville called it a "victory for life".
On February 1, 2023, Tuberville announced his committee assignments for the 118th Congress.
In February 2023, Tuberville co-sponsored a bill to prevent people with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria from serving in the U.S. military, with limited exceptions.
In March 2023, Tuberville reintroduced a bill to forbid public schools from allowing a trans girl or woman to participate in a girl's or women's sport.
On December 5, 2023, Tuberville largely lifted his hold on military promotions, which had blocked 451 promotions during the previous week; the Senate responded by promoting 425 military officers.
In 2023, Tuberville became Alabama's senior senator upon Richard Shelby's retirement.
In 2023, Tuberville was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, stating the bill did not go far enough to reform the budget.
On November 12, 2024, Tuberville announced his candidacy for reelection for a second term in the 2026 elections.
In 2026, Tuberville will be up for reelection for a second term.